Thor looked out of his space and popped into reality to run across the field and splash in the pond.
“Well, we can say that the water is safe. Go ahead, everyone, and try not to let Thor splash you too much if you’re not going to strip down to swimwear.” Karl laughed.
After splashing around for a moment, Thor settled into the pond with a sigh, letting just his snout show over the surface as he relaxed in the cool water.
[It feels so good on the scales.] He informed Karl happily.
Karl walked down to the pond, following the others, who were searching for a spot that felt right to them so they could pick a lucky rock.
Hawk thought that it was hilarious, as he had no interest in the rocks. Nor did Rae, as they glowed and would mess up the vibe in her space. How could she be a mysterious predator in the dark and use a nightlight?
[You could make a walkway with them down the sides.] Karl suggested.
[So bright. How would I ever sleep?] Rae objected.
Karl looked over at Thor, who was now snoring as he relaxed in the lake, and the spider began to laugh.
[Point taken.]
Karl decided he would pick a stone after everyone else had theirs. He wasn’t strictly a magic user, so it didn’t matter whether he found some perfect or most powerful stone, he would just pick a nice-looking one and call it a day.
So, while the others put great effort into their choice, Karl focused on making a relaxation pond for Thor in his mental space. If the Lightning Cerro liked the water that much, it only made sense to give him a pond of his own.
Finding the stones only took a half an hour, but then the warriors began to strip down to their shirts and underwear to go for a swim with Thor. The water had magic in it, and a swim might give them some benefits that they wouldn’t get just by standing near the shore.
Most of the mages were more reluctant, as they weren’t as physically toned as the warriors were, but eventually, they caved and ran back into the bushes to change into swimsuits from their bags.
Having to recover a resource from the water was an anticipated scenario, and the suits didn’t take much space, so they were standard kit. They were also useful on rainy days in hot environments, when it was easier to just get wet and keep your kit dry than to try to dry your clothes later.
Karl finished the small pond for Thor, which he could expand later, and changed before he came out of the trees to join the fun. The combination of the Lightning Cerro, whose refreshing lightning made the water mildly charged and refreshing as he slept, and the natural magic of the pond combined to make an outdoor spa.
They likely wouldn’t get much more done today unless they left soon, but Karl let everyone soak for an hour and play in the pond before Hawk reported that he had seen some strange ferns that were definitely magic.
“Hawk has found another resource. Has everyone found what they need here?” Karl asked.
“Yeah, give us a bit to change clothes, and we will be ready to go.” Dana replied, giving the water a longing look.
They couldn’t take it with them, but there were still plenty of magical stones in it, so they could come back on another mission to the area and play in the water again. The Holy Stones that they had gathered wouldn’t wear out if they just used them as a meditation focus to improve their growth, so they wouldn’t need to take any more of them, just relax in the water.
Once everyone was changed and shouldered their packs again, Karl called Rae and Thor back into the space. Thor was still half asleep, but Rae had only been splashing at the edge of the water, unwilling to go into water deeper than her lower torso.
Like a cat, she cleaned herself. There was no need for her to bathe in a pool of water, and she didn’t see the appeal.
It was only when they were halfway to the next resource when Karl realized that the bottom of the pond in Thor’s mental space was now lined with very real gravel and a large number of Holy Stones. He had taken them with him when he transferred back in, and it seemed that the Holy Stones didn’t prevent their transfer.
[How does he do that anyhow?] Rae asked, meaning how he let his head float with his nostrils out of the water as he slept.
[His nose and mouth are fully separate. He fills his mouth with air and closes it, then it makes his head naturally float while he breathes through his nose.] Karl informed the confused spider.
[Make him stop, it’s freaky.]
Thor snorted in amusement and moved a little, so his head was on the shore and not floating in the water.
[Better.]
The ferns that Hawk had found were a primary ingredient for healing potions, a thick stem filled with numbing gel that could be used alone as a painkiller ointment, but when combined into the potions by witches or other healing classes with alchemy skills, they would be able to heal major injuries almost as well as the expensive medicines that the doctor in the frontier town had provided to Karl.
“These aren’t easy to store. Does anyone have extra glass jars for the gel?” One of the witches asked, hopefully.
Each of the warriors dug in their bag and took out one of the specimen jars, then realized just how inadequate they were for the task.
The jar held half a litre, which seemed like a lot, until they realized that the stem of the fern branch she wanted to drain was taller than they were, and as thick as their leg.
Karl thought about the issue for a moment, then unpacked one of his jars and went to a smaller fern branch. A slice of Rend cut it off past the first branches, where it should likely regrow, and then he stuffed the bottom of the thin stem into the jar, holding all the gel inside.
“There. Problem solved.” He announced.
“I never thought of that. We will look silly with fern branch flagpoles on our backs, but it will give us so much. I mean, so much.” The witch cheered.
Karl passed the jar of fern to Thor, who looked at it for a second before realizing it was medicine and not food. That was interesting. He couldn’t put the jar in the space empty, but with medicine in it, he could.
The witch was staring at him now, so Karl shrugged. “I can store food and medicine in the same mental space where the pets rest. Just food and medicine so far, but that’s where I put the fern.”
The witch made a pleading look, then looked down at the pile of jars. It would be a nightmare to try to carry ten of the metre tall smaller fern plants, but sitting in Thor’s space it wasn’t an issue.
“Alright, I will give them back when we’re done the mission.” Karl agreed.
They stuffed ferns into the jars that had been donated to the Witch, and then cut down one extra fern and portioned the gel between everyone, including the clerics, who had leather pouches instead of jars. They didn’t seal as well, but they folded flat and didn’t take up as much space when empty.
“Now, we’ve all got medicine rubs, so let’s look for more resources before we go home. Not too much more, though. We’re all out of space.”
The students laughed. There was no better problem to have during a resource gathering mission than finding so much that you couldn’t carry it all.